The young people supporting the opposition were planning to conduct an action of protest at 14:00, in front of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia, “to mark one year of the elections faked on February 19, 2008.”

However, before the announced time, there were already 20-30 policemen in front of the Central Electoral Commission, led by Robert Melkonyan, the head of Police Patrol Service (PPS) at the RA police. Melkonyan ensured us they would not allow any unlicensed public event taking place in front of CEC.

At 14:30 about 30 young oppositionists came up to CEC building, bearing posters and three-colored flags and chanting, “Serzhik, go away!”

One of the posters pictured RA incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan in the image of Nazar the Brave. The poster was titled “I am invincible Nazar the Brave, Vote for me, and five thousand you will have!”

The demonstrators had prepared small leaflets with the picture of Serzh Sargsyan, imitating 5 thousand dram bills and called Serzhadrams.

The demonstrators had hardly moved for 10 meters when the representatives of law enforcement bodies rushed to tear the posters and leaflets. They even tried to arrest some of the demonstrators but failed due to the interference of Vladimir Karapetyan, Aram Manukyan and Zaruhi Postanjyan.

Thus, instead of an action of protest, there was yet another clash of the opposition with the police. The opposition is planning to conduct a big rally and a march on March 1, to commemorate the 10 victims of the events of March 1, 2008. The police stated that they were not going to permit the March 1 actions to happen.